Published: Septempber 27th, 2011 | Walker Books for Young Readers
Age: Young Adult
Pages: 384
Acquired: ARC
Overall:
1/2Review: I have read a lot of reviews saying how surprised they were that they liked this book. My review is no different. But the reason I'm surprised is because I'm not much of a shifters, werewolves style book, luckily this books isn't really like that.
Maggie Mae moves to Silvery City, New Mexico after a few run-ins with the law for public indecency.... aka she was naked. But being a shape shifter and not quite in control of when and where you turn can leave you in such predicaments.
As she turns 18 she learns to control her shifting ability a little bit better, right when she meets and quickly begins fall for Bridger. He's the guy everyone loves and admires. And it definitely wasn't hard to see why. The entire time I was reading Shifting I kept imagining Blair Redford as Bridger.
I loved Maggie Mae's voice, how she stood up for her own, never afraid to admit when she may be falling and even though she didn't ask for help, she still knew when she needed it. And it was obvious that living with Mrs Carpenter, someone who genuinely cared for her and was there to help her through her difficult time, made it easier for her to adjust and start accepting people into her life.
When the book first starts out, she's attending school and it seems that the entire book will be her as this girl who has to continue running from her issues so as not to expose her secret. And I was relieved to find out that the school year ending fairly early on in the book, I knew it'd mean more Bridger, more Maggie Mae and her life as a shifter and hoped for more of her friends.... like Yana.
Unfortunately, however there wasn't enough Yana, it seemed the author actually forgot about her completely. She was Maggie Mae's first friend, got her a job, and looked out for her best interest from the beginning, but the way the author left her out made it look as if Maggie Mae completely forgot about her.
The ending is not really left open for a sequel, but I wouldn't be mad if there was on. I'd just hope that there would be more Yana, Mrs. Carpenter and more on Bridger's life.
Plot:
1/2Characters:
Ending:
1/2Writing:
Cover:
(ARC cover) 
Bethany Wiggins has always been an avid reader, but not an avid student. Seriously!!! She failed ninth grade English because she read novels instead of doing her homework. In high school, she sat alone at lunch and read massive hardback fantasy novels (Tad Williams and Robert Jordan anyone?). It wasn't until the end of her senior year that the other students realized she was reading fiction--not the Bible.
Seven years ago, Bethany's sister dared her to start writing an hour a day until she completed a novel. Bethany wrote a seven-hundred page fantasy novel that she wisely let no one read--but it taught her how to write. Since then she has completed six more novels, each one a little better than the one before.
